A good blender...

In our 20 year marriage we have had a half dozen blenders. It is funny how something you use infrequently can go bad as quickly as our blenders have. My wife recently started drinking protein smoothies with creatine powder for breakfast. After a couple of weeks our blender had increasing difficulty in blending the mixture to a smooth consistency. It seems like we are on the verge of needing yet another blender. She would love to have a Vitamix blender but with a price tag of around $400.00 it is a tough thing to buy. I know there has to be a decent blender out there that costs less than $100.00 and will last more than a couple of years. If you know of such a blender let me know.